Even though I'm only stepping into the 3rd year of starting my business, I've grown accustomed to weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly tasks. The plan, execution, and review process have become so natural I can't imagine another way to do things anymore. I even started to do my year-end review slightly before the marked dates in my schedule - not in dread but in anticipation. I wanted to know what I have achieved, what has performed well, and what needs improvement.
Though I've only managed to achieve half of my 2022 goals, I was surprised to find how far I've come. Each piece of content has led me to new opportunities. Instead of feeling drained, I see so much potential and change that can happen. That is why I've dedicated December not only to look back but also to move on.
1) Pushing web traffic with SEO
To me, this is one of the biggest achievements I have unlocked.
I have always written from the heart and believed that good content travels far. But the fact is content online requires optimization. And though content marketing is not the same as SEO, I figured this month is the time to try and do it myself.
I have published a lot of content on my website and saw how they would perform on their own in the past year or two. I was able to spot specific potentials and understood what content needs highlighting to help drive me closer to my business goals. I have a much clearer picture of what my hub and spoke pages are and was ready to take a closer look at keywords:
I identified my main hub page with the most industry-related keywords, which was my "Why Content Marketing" page;
I started optimizing the page to reach 3,000 words with 20 keywords across H1 (main keyword), H2 (questions target audiences asked), and within paragraphs (phrases and other long-tail keywords);
I identified the spoke pages this main hub page can naturally link to, which resulted in my "Content Marketing for Slashers", "Content Marketing 101", and "Content Marketing Strategies" pages;
I optimized those spoke pages to reach 2,000 words with 15 keywords. The keywords included here were more specific and highly relevant to the subject of the page;
I started identifying 3 blogs to link to each of those pages, to reach 750 words and include 8 keywords each.
I'm still working on my spoke pages and blogs, but the results have already been prominent. My direct organic traffic in December saw a 37% increase compared to November, and I had more keywords ranking in search.
2) Achieving my main 2022 goal
The main reason for everything I did in 2022 was to be recognized as the Content Marketer in Hong Kong. I spent 76 days last year working towards this goal. Media coverage like this sums up all my hard work.
I am proud to be recognized as one of the most influential entrepreneurs from Hong Kong in 2022 by APAC Entrepreneur. Being recognized as a highly passionate content marketing expert is a milestone.
"Every business leader has their own set of beliefs, and core values, which set them apart from others. For Joyce, it is passion and education. For the ingenious leader, true entrepreneurship is all about solving a problem passionately."
- APAC Entrepreneur on Joyce Tsang, Founder and Content Marketer at Joyce Tsang Content Marketing
For those interested, feel free to access the complete digital Volume 9 issue and learn about other APAC entrepreneurs here or read my story on the web here.
3) Learning from others
Personal branding is one of those things that I seem to have a knack for. Yet, I think most businesses in Hong Kong are behind in adopting such a tactic. So I didn't feel like now is the time to provide such services. Yet, I need to know what value others have to share on this topic. Hence, I looked into Lemlist's personal branding course.
While my content on Linkedin has been doing alright, there's a lot of room for improvement. Lemlist's course has highlighted all the changes I need to make with detailed examples and tested frameworks. I enjoyed the lessons overall. The biggest thing it has reminded me is content is always changing. While I have a clear framework and strategy, there are so many ways for me to present and execute my content. I am seeing progress already!
Confused as to what defines you?
Perhaps it's not content execution you need help with, but personal branding discovery.
4) Providing more resources
The more I create content, the more I believe that content created with a single person in mind is much more powerful.
I started writing The Entrepreneur Log for one target audience. Now, different like-minded individuals resonate with this series of content. If I focused on serving a group and forfeited the interest of a single person, I would not result in intimate content like this.
To further help my target audiences, I have set up a pay-as-you-wish resource center on Gumroad. Click through to access my downloadables on demand!
5) Assessing content performances
How can I not mention my year-end content review?
I have stuck with my content strategy and consistently created achievement, education, and personal content across all my owned channels this past year. And the hard work has paid off.
Click here to see my best-performing content across Linkedin, Instagram, and Youtube.
And that's it for this month, folks!
It's time to take all my 2022 learnings and kick 2023 in the butt!
- Joyce
More Resource
 | Do you want to create your own content strategy for your brand? Start with our Super Guide on the 6 Steps to Create Your Own Content Strategy! |
Youtube Video - Create Your Own Content Strategy: 8 Steps for Anyone to Start - Free Downloadable Template Included |
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